Nine To Noon for Thursday 12 August 2021

 

 

09:05 Farmers frustrated over unreliable pollution tool

Federated Farmers says New Zealand's farm environment management system has been rocked to the core by the release of a report criticising the widely used farm nutrient modelling system Overseer. Overseer was originally developed as a tool to help farmers to use fertiliser and other inputs more efficiently, but as it also estimates the nutrient loss from farms, over time it came to be used by regional councils to help inform regulations around water quality.  A report in 2018 by the Parliamentary Commission for the Environment critcised the tool as flawed, opaque and open to gaming by farmers. Now an independent science advisory panel has backed the original concerns about Overseer, finding it is not designed to accurately estimate nutrient loss - despite this being something councils use it for. Kathryn speaks with Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, and Federated Farmers' water quality spokesperson Chris Allen.

09:20 Patients lose as private health insurers take control: senior specialist

A senior medical specialist says patients are losing out as insurance companies use heavy-handed tactics to control what they can and can't receive from providers. Dr Dean Corbett is an Auckland based Ophthalmologist working in the public and private systems and also serves as Chairperson of Ophthalmology NZ. He says while most eyes are on the government's plans to reform the public health system, by replacing District Health Boards with one new authority, little attention is being paid to failings in the private healthcare system. Dr Corbett says some insurance companies are driving down prices, while the real cost of delivery is going up. and providers who don't comply are threatened with exclusion from the accreditation system.

09:45 UK correspondent Matt Dathan

Matt Dathan discusses the British embassy worker in Berlin who has been arrested on suspicion of taking a cash bribe to pass sensitive documents to a Russian intelligence agency. Also 15-18 year-olds in England are set to find out their results from non-existent exams, and women can now wear trousers at the Henley Royal Regatta everywhere after it changed its "draconian" dress code.

10:05 Tā Mark Solomon: leadership and life Mark Solomon: leadership and life

Tā Mark Solomon spent 18-years at the helm of Ngāi Tahu. He was elected to the role in 1998 just as the iwi was about to sign its $170 million historic Treaty of Waitangi settlement. Today Ngai Tahu's asset base stands at $1.2 billion with investments in property, fisheries, tourism farming and much more. Over $320 million has been distributed to support tribal programmes. As well as guiding Ngai Tahu, Mark Solomon was instrumental in setting up the influential Iwi Chairs Forum. He is a former chair of the Canterbury District Health Board, a former board member of Te Papa, and current director of a number of companies, and in 2013 was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori and business. Yet the former foundary worker says the first time he stood up to speak on his iwi's behalf he was "tongue-tied and terrified".  He's just released a memoir in which he reflects on his life, those who've influenced him and on what leadership means to him.

10:30 Covid vaccine for eligible ages from 1 September     

The Government has set out its plan to reconnect New Zealand with the world in the Covid-19 pandemic.  It plans to speed up the vaccination roll out and prioritise getting first doses into more people. The Prime Minister has also outlined a phased approach to reopening the border. RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson.

10:35 Book review: What You Made of It by C.K. Stead

Harry Ricketts reviews What You Made of It by C.K. Stead, published by AUP

10:45 The Reading

Duet, part 14. Written by David Hill, read by Kip Chapman.

11:05 Apple reads your photos, Facebook bans researchers looking at political advertising

Technology commentator Mark Pesce joins Kathryn to talk about a well-intended move that’s ended up being controversial for Apple. It was to enable the scanning of people’s photos for child sex abuse imagery – but it opens the door for snooping for other things and privacy advocates are outraged. Meanwhile two researchers investigating political advertising on Facebook found themselves banned from the planform, and in Australia a first-in-the-world legal ruling means an artificial intelligence program can develop novel works that can be patented.

11:25 Why do some children have imaginary friends?

Psychologist Sarb Johal talks with Kathryn about why some children have imaginary friends. It is something parents should be worried about and what is the role these "friends" fulfill?

11:45 Film and TV: Pig, Val, Young And

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to look at Pig, a new film in cinemas starring Nicholas Cage, Val - a feature documentary streaming on Amazon Prime Video about the life of Val Kilmer and Young And, a documentary web series on TVNZ On Demand.

Music played in this show

Track: My Love was Like The Rain
Artist: Lapsley
Time: 09:34

Track: So
Artist: HNNY
Time: 11:30